Evaluation of the Histo-Epidemiological Profile of Solid Childhood Cancers in Togo

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a subject of continuing concern, more common in adults than in children, but often with a poor outcome in the latter. Our study set itself the objective to describe the epidemiological and histological aspects of solid cancers in children in Togo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study focused on cases of solid cancers in children diagnosed from 2010 to 2014 (5 years) at the pathology laboratory of the Tokoin teaching hospital. Data were collected from the records of that laboratory. RESULTS: We collected 66 cases of childhood cancer representing 5% of all solid cancers. The annual incidence was 13.2 cases. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1.4; mean age was of 7.2±1.6 years. The age group most affected was that of 5-9 years (40.9%). Four histological groups of solid childhood cancers were listed: lymphoma (n=34 cases; 51.5%), embryonic cancer (n=17 cases; 25.8%), sarcomas (n=13 cases; 19.7%) and carcinoma (n=2 cases; 3%). The most common histological types were Burkitt lymphoma (36.4%), nephroblastoma (10.6%) and retinoblastoma (10.6%). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that solid cancers in children are relatively frequent in Togo with a male predominance. They are still largely dominated by Burkitt lymphoma, followed by retinoblastoma and nephroblastoma.